Cardoso what’s wrong? Nigerians ask questions as naira depreciates further

The downward trend of the naira against the dollar has prompted Nigerians to pose questions to Yemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria about the continued depreciation of the currency.

The slump started on Monday, April 22, 2024, when the naira slightly depreciated in the official market, trading at ₦1,234.49 to the dollar.

By Wednesday, April 24, the currency had depreciated to ₦1,308.52 to the dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).

According to the News Agency of Nigeria, data from the official trading platform of the FMDQ Exchange, a platform that oversees the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), showed that the naira lost ₦8.37 on Wednesday.

24 hours later, the naira fell further to ₦1,309 per dollar at the official market and ₦1,420 at the parallel market.

A Bureau de Change operator at the Zone Complex in Wuse, in Abuja confirmed to Pulse that currently, the naira trades between ₦1400 and ₦1420 to the dollar.

The fall of the naira, despite the CBN intervention, came after its consistent appreciation against the dollar as Nigerians praised Cardoso for overseeing the rise of currency amid the economic crisis the country battles with.

The continued downward trend of the naira is said to have been triggered by the renewed demand for the dollar in the foreign exchange market.

Meanwhile, the CBN governor while speaking at a press conference during the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group promised to do everything possible to achieve a stable exchange rate.

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso Pulse Nigeria

However, the current exchange rate indicated that the naira has lost 19.64% in two weeks, a development that has got Nigerians directing questions at the CBN governor on what happened to the recent appreciation of the currency and why the current slump continues.

Nigerians’ reactions to naira's fall

Cardoso recently dismissed naira defence claim

It would be recalled that when the naira was gaining against the dollar, there were claims that the CBN was defending the currency with Nigeria's foreign reserves, but in his recent interview dismissed the narrative, saying the apex bank has no intention to defend the naira.

He said, "I want to try to make this as clear as possible. It is not our intention to defend the naira. It is not. Much as I have read in the recent few days, some opinions with respect to what is happening with our reserves. If you think back to what our overall policy and philosophy has been here, you can see that it is counter-intuitive."

Cardoso said he foresaw a future where the CBN may not need to intervene except in very unusual circumstances.